第561章

for a cannon-ball to be fired at the enemy. -- It is not surprising that an electoral body without self-respect should respect nothing， and practice self-mutilation under the pretext of purification.[22]

The object of the despotic majority was to reign at once， without any contest， on its own authority， and to expel all offensive electors. At Paris， in the Aisne， in Haute-Loire， in Ille-et-Vilaine， in Maine-et-Loire， it excludes as unworthy the members of old Feuillants and monarchical clubs， and the signers of Constitutionalist protests. In Hérault it cancels the elections in the canton of Servian， because the elected men， it says， are "mad aristocrats." In Orne it drives away an old Constituent， Goupil de Préfeln， because he voted for the revision， also， his son-in-law， because he is his son-in-law. In the Bouches-du-Rh？ne， where the canton of Seignon， by mistake or through routine， swore "to maintain the constitution of the kingdom，" it sets aside these retrograde elected representatives， commences proceedings against the "crime committed，" and sends troops against Noves because the Noves elector， a justice who is denounced and in peril， has escaped from the electoral den. -- After the purification of persons it proceeds to the purification of sentiments. At Paris， and in at least nine departments，[23] and in contempt of the law， is suppresses the secret ballot， the last refuge of timid conservatives， and imposes on each elector a verbal public vote， loud and clear， on his name being called； that is to say， if he does not vote as he ought to， he risks the gallows.[24] Nothing could more surely convert hesitation and indecision into good sense， while， in many a place， still more powerful machinery is violently opposed to the elections. At Paris the elections are carried on in the midst of atrocities， under the pikes of the butchers， and con ducted by their instigators. At Meaux and at Rheims the electors in session were within hearing of the screeches of the murdered priests. At Rheims the butchers themselves ordered the electoral assembly to elect their candidates， Drouet， the famous post-master， and Armonville， a tipsy wool-carder， upon which one-half of the assembly withdrew， while the two candidates of the assassins are elected. At Lyons， two days after the massacre， the Jacobin commander writes to the Minister： "Yesterday's catastrophe puts the aristocrats to flight， and ensures us the majority in Lyons."[25] From universal suffrage thus subjected to so much sifting， submitted to such heavy pressure， heated and refined in the revolutionary alembic， those who control it obtain all they want， a concentrated extract， the quintessence of the Jacobin spirit.

And yet， should this extract not seem to them sufficiently strong， wherever they are sovereign， they throw it away and begin over again.

At Paris，[26] by means of a purifying and surplus ballot， the new Council of the Commune undertakes the expulsion of its lukewarm members， while d'Ormesson， the mayor elect of the moderates， is assailed with so many threats that， on the verge of his installation， he resigns. At Lyons，[27] another moderate， Nivière-Chol， twice elected， and， by 9，000 out of 11，000 votes， is twice compelled to abandon his place； after him， Gilibert， the physician， who， supported by the same voters， is about to obtain the majority， is seized suddenly and cast into prison； even in prison， he is elected； the clubbists confine him there more rigidly， and do not let him out even after extorting his resignation. -- Elsewhere in the rural cantons， for example， in Franche-Comté，[28] a number of elections are canceled when the person elected happens to be a Catholic. The Jacobin minority frequently secede， meet in a tavern， elect their mayor or justice of the peace， and the validity of his election is secured because he is a patriot； so much the worse for that of the majority， whose more numerous votes are null because given by "fanatics." -- The response of universal suffrage thus appealed to cannot be other than that which is framed for it. Indisputable facts are to show to what extent this response is compulsive or perverted， what a distance there is between an official choice and public opinion， how the elections give a contrary meaning to popular sentiment. The departments of Deux-Sèvres， Maine-et-Loire， la Vendée， Loire-Infèrieure， Morbihan， and Finistère， send only anti-Catholic republicans to the Convention， while these same departments are to become the inexhaustible nursery of the great catholic and royalist insurrection. Three regicides out of four deputies represent Lozère， where， six months later， thirty thousand peasants are to march under the Royal white banner. Six regicides out of nine deputies represent la Vendée， which is going to rise from one end of it to the other in the name of the King.[29]

IV.

Composition of the National Convention. - Number of Montagnards at the start. - Opinions and sentiments of the deputies of the Plain. - The Gironde. - Ascendancy of the Girondins in the Convention. - Their intellectual character. - Their principles. - The plan of their Constitution. - Their fanaticism. - Their sincerity， culture and tastes. - How they differ from pure Jacobins. - How they comprehend popular sovereignty. - Their stipulations with regard to the initiative of individuals and of groups. - Weakness of philosophic thought and of parliamentary authority in times of anarchy.